Mountain System Recharge (MRS) processes are the natural recharge pathways in arid and semi-arid mountainous regions. However, MSR processes are often poorly understood and characterized in hydrologic models. Mountains are the primary source of water supply to valley aquifers via multiple pathways including lateral groundwater flow from the mountain block (Mountain-block Recharge, MBR) and focused recharge from mountain streams contributing to mountain front recharge (MFR) at the piedmont zone. Here, we present a multi-tool isogeochemical approach to characterize mountain flow paths and MSR processes in the northern Tulare basin, California. We used groundwater chemistry data to delineate hydrochemical facies and explain the chemical evolution of groundwater from the Sierra Nevada to the Central Valley aquifer. Isotope tracers helped to validate MSR processes. Novel application of End-Member Mixing Analysis (EMMA) using conservative chemical components revealed three MSR end-members: (1) evaporated Ca-HCO3 water type associated with MFR, (2) non-evaporated Ca-HCO3 and Na-HCO3 water types with short residence times associated with shallow MBR, and (3) Na-HCO3 groundwater type with long residence time associated with deep MBR. We quantified the contribution of each MSR process to the valley aquifer using mixing ratio calculation (MIX). Our results show that deep MBR is a significant component of recharge representing more than 50% of the valley groundwater. Greater hydraulic connectivity between the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley has significant implications for parameterizing Central Valley groundwater flow models and improving groundwater management.Our framework is useful for understanding MSR processes in other snow-dominated mountain watersheds.